Symptoms of Anxiety Exhaustion and When to Consider Therapy for Burnout

Understanding Anxiety Exhaustion

If you’ve ever felt like your anxiety has drained every ounce of your energy, you’re not alone. Many professionals and caregivers live with what’s often called anxiety exhaustion—a state where constant worry, hypervigilance, and stress responses leave the mind and body depleted.

Unlike everyday tiredness, anxiety exhaustion isn’t relieved by a weekend off or a good night’s sleep. Instead, it can snowball into burnout, a deeper form of physical, emotional, and mental depletion that affects work performance, relationships, and overall health. Recognizing the signs early is the first step toward anxiety and burnout recovery.

Common Symptoms of Anxiety Exhaustion

Anxiety exhaustion can show up in ways that affect your body, emotions, and thinking. While each person’s experience is unique, here are some of the most common symptoms I see in my online Denver-based therapy practice:

1. Constant Fatigue

Even after sleeping, you wake up feeling unrefreshed. Anxiety keeps your nervous system “on alert,” often disrupting deep rest and making exhaustion a daily companion.

2. Difficulty Concentrating

When the mind is consumed by worry, it’s hard to focus. You may find yourself rereading the same email, missing deadlines, or struggling to stay present in conversations.

3. Physical Tension and Pain

Jaw clenching, neck stiffness, headaches, and stomach upset are frequent companions of chronic anxiety. Over time, these physical symptoms can wear you down.

4. Heightened Irritability

Feeling “on edge” or snapping at loved ones can be a sign your nervous system is overloaded. Small stressors start to feel unmanageable.

5. Sleep Disturbances

Insomnia, frequent waking, or restless sleep are common when anxiety is high. Exhaustion compounds when you can’t get restorative rest.

6. Emotional Numbness or Detachment

Paradoxically, anxiety exhaustion can also lead to feeling flat or disconnected—like you’re going through the motions without fully engaging in life.

7. Loss of Motivation

You may feel too drained to keep up with personal goals, exercise routines, or even enjoyable activities. This lack of drive often signals that exhaustion has tipped into burnout territory.

When Anxiety Turns into Burnout

While anxiety exhaustion and burnout overlap, burnout is a more advanced stage of depletion. According to research by psychologist Christina Maslach, burnout is marked by three dimensions:

• Emotional exhaustion – feeling drained, depleted, and unable to recover

• Depersonalization or detachment – distancing yourself from work, clients, or loved ones

• Reduced sense of accomplishment – doubting your abilities or feeling ineffective

As a burnout therapist in Denver, I see burnout as an increasingly common phenomenon in my practice, where high-achieving professionals often juggle demanding careers, caregiving roles, and personal expectations. If anxiety exhaustion has been ongoing for weeks or months, it may be time to consider whether burnout has developed.

Signs You May Need Therapy for Burnout

It’s normal to feel tired after a stressful week. But therapy can help when exhaustion starts to interfere with your health and daily life. Consider reaching out for professional support if you notice:

• You’re using caffeine, alcohol, or other substances just to get through the day

• Your relationships are strained because you’re irritable, withdrawn, or checked out

• You dread work or daily tasks that once felt manageable

• You’ve lost interest in hobbies, friendships, or activities that normally recharge you

• Anxiety symptoms—like racing thoughts, panic attacks, or muscle tension—are persistent and worsening

• You’ve tried self-care strategies, but they no longer provide relief

Therapy for anxiety exhaustion and burnout isn’t about “fixing” you—it’s about helping you learn new ways to manage stress, reset your nervous system, and reconnect with what matters most.

How Online Therapy in Colorado Helps

Evidence-based approaches like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can provide practical strategies for recovery:

• Identifying thought patterns that contribute to anxiety and exhaustion

• Building healthier coping tools to replace avoidance or overworking

• Clarifying personal values to guide decisions and restore a sense of purpose

• Practicing mindfulness and stress-management techniques to calm the body’s fight-or-flight response

Creating sustainable routines that balance rest, work, and meaningful activities

In therapy, you’ll also have a safe, supportive space to explore perfectionism, underlying grief, or past experiences that may be fueling your current exhaustion.

Finding Burnout and Anxiety Therapy in Denver, CO

If you live in the Denver metro area or beyond, you don’t have to go through anxiety exhaustion or burnout alone. My Colorado therapy practice offers virtual options, making it easier to fit support into your busy schedule. Working with a Denver-based therapist who specializes in anxiety and burnout means you’ll gain tools tailored to high-pressure careers, urban living, and the unique stressors of professionals and families.

Taking the Next Step

Anxiety exhaustion is more than “just stress”—it’s your body and mind signaling that you need care and recovery. Teleherapy can help you move from survival mode into a more balanced, values-driven life.

If you’re noticing these symptoms in yourself, it may be time to explore therapy for burnout and anxiety. In Denver, you can find compassionate, evidence-based support designed to help you recover your energy, rebuild resilience, and reconnect with what truly matters. Here are a few ways to get in touch with me:

💻Through email at jennifer@drolsonmadden.com

📱By phone at 720-588-3823

📝Via my website’s contact form

Other Online Therapy I Provide Throughout Colorado

When anxiety leaves you feeling mentally drained, physically tense, and constantly on edge, burnout therapy can provide a path forward. By addressing both the emotional and physical toll of anxiety exhaustion, therapy helps you restore balance, manage stress more effectively, and reconnect with the parts of life that matter most.

Although supporting clients through burnout recovery is a primary focus of my practice, my Denver-based telehealth services extend to many other areas of mental health. I work with individuals experiencing anxiety disorders, offering strategies to quiet worry, ease restlessness, and improve daily functioning. I also provide trauma-informed therapy for those healing from difficult past experiences, and I guide clients through major life transitions—whether it’s a career change, a new role in life, or a personal identity shift. For clients facing relationship challenges, I offer individualized therapy to strengthen communication, repair trust, and build healthier connections.

Beyond therapy sessions, I provide professional assessments and customized treatment plans that reflect each client’s unique needs and goals. To learn more about my approach, I invite you to explore my website, read practical insights on my mental health blog, and reach out when you’re ready to take the next step toward recovery. You can also download my free e-book for additional resources and follow me on X, Instagram, and LinkedIn for ongoing tips to support your mental well-being.

About the Author

Dr. Jennifer Olson-Madden is a licensed psychologist in Denver, CO, with a specialty in helping clients manage the overlap of anxiety, stress, and burnout. Using approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and mindfulness practices, she supports individuals in recognizing when anxiety has become exhaustion and provides tools to restore energy, focus, and well-being. With over 20 years of clinical experience treating burnout, chronic stress, trauma, and anxiety disorders, Dr. Olson-Madden brings both expertise and compassion to her work. She not only teaches strategies for managing anxiety exhaustion but also integrates these principles into her own daily life, modeling resilience and balance for her clients.